Integrating Foreign-Trained Professionals into the Labor Market: The Role of Bridge Training Programs

Professional accreditation continues to be a major barrier for internationally trained professionals in Canada. Despite arriving with extensive qualifications and experience, many immigrants face difficulties re-entering their fields due to licensing hurdles, regulatory misalignment, and limited institutional support. Ontario’s Bridge Training Programs aim to address this gap by offering tailored pathways to help skilled newcomers integrate into the workforce.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, we examine how these programs operate, where they succeed, and what challenges remain. From funding and regulatory constraints to employer engagement and federal-provincial coordination, we explore the policy and structural factors shaping their impact. We also compare Ontario’s approach to similar initiatives elsewhere, asking what reforms are needed to expand access and improve outcomes for newcomers across Canada’s evolving labor market.

Our guest this week is Dr. Katerina Belazelkoska, Program Manager at GATEWAY for International Professionals. Dr. Belazelkoska is an expert and instructor in Immigration and Settlement Studies at the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Toronto Metropolitan University. With a PhD in Educational Administration and more than a decade of leadership experience in the settlement and education sectors, Dr. Belazelkoska brings both academic depth and on-the-ground insight to the conversation.

Join us as we explore the structural, policy, and economic dimensions of immigrant workforce integration - and how reimagining credential recognition can advance both inclusion and innovation in Canada’s labor market.

Produced by: Ananya Kaumudi Mallubhotla & Dzvezdan Cockovski